WaterGradePro is a guide to the water you use at home every day: what’s in it, what can be done about it and which treatment systems can back up their claims.
01 Person
The person behind WaterGradePro
WaterGradePro was created by John, who also writes its guides. He has experience with home water treatment, and he compares systems by what they’re certified to do and by the manufacturer’s own data. You can read more on his author page.
The site exists because too much home water advice is marketing:
- Filter claims to “remove 99%” that don’t say 99% of what, or to which standard
- Reviews that never mention a certification listing
- Rankings that follow commissions instead of data
02 Method
How we grade
Check the certification
A filter that claims to reduce lead or PFAS should be certified for that specific claim by an accredited body such as NSF, WQA or IAPMO. We check the certifier’s listing, not the box.
Read the manufacturer’s data
Performance data sheets and manuals give capacity, flow rate, operating pressure, filter life and replacement costs: the numbers that decide whether a system fits your home.
Check primary sources
Contaminant limits and health information come from primary sources such as the EPA, the CDC and the USGS, and we keep legal limits separate from health goals.
03 Honesty
If it’s certified, we show you. If we couldn’t verify it, we say so.
That honesty is the whole point. We don’t run our own lab tests, and we never publish invented scores, star ratings or testimonials, so we show you where our information comes from.
We show it.
- Certified claims, with the certifier’s listing
- Specs from the manufacturer’s own documents
- Limits from the EPA and other primary sources
We say so.
- When a claim isn’t certified
- When we couldn’t verify something
- When the data is missing or out of date
04 Trust
Why trust WaterGradePro
Independent.
No paid placements and no sponsored reviews. Manufacturers can’t pay to be included or graded.
Certification first.
Contaminant-reduction claims are checked against the certifier’s own listing, such as one to an NSF/ANSI standard. If a claim isn’t certified, we say so.
Primary sources.
Health and contaminant information comes from public agencies and standards bodies:
EPA CDC USGS NSF/ANSI
Transparent.
We say how the site makes money, and we keep it separate from how we grade.
How the site is funded
Some links, such as those to Amazon or to a manufacturer’s own store, may earn us a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. Commissions never decide what we recommend or how a product is graded. Our Affiliate Disclosure explains how it works.
Data not deals
05 Coverage
What we cover
- Water softeners for hard water, and how to size one for your household
- Whole-house filters that treat the water at every tap
- Under-sink filters and reverse osmosis for drinking and cooking water
- Refrigerator and shower filters, matched by model and by certification
- Well water: testing, treatment and upkeep for private wells
- Water testing and contaminants, from hardness and chlorine to lead, nitrate and PFAS
Health information is general. Water quality can affect health, so we rely on primary sources such as the EPA, the CDC and the USGS, and we keep legal limits separate from health goals. Our articles are general information, not medical or professional advice; see our Disclaimer.
Found an error or have a question?
If you find a mistake, an outdated certification or a broken link, tell us. We review every report and update the article when we confirm a problem.